Storm Story
by Nikani
Summary: Ever wonder why Gibbs and Abby are so close that she could get away with just about anything? Well, here is my take on that idea. Family fic, AU, minor spoilers for current season.


Hello and welcome to my first foray into fanfiction for NCIS. Up until now, all of my stories have centered on Harry Potter, but I've always loved the show and have wondered ever since it started what the relationship between Abby and Gibbs was. So, here is my explanation for the bond between Marine and Goth.

This story is AU, so that means that the characters may not act in the same manner you see them on TV. And they do not belong to me. If they did, there are a few things that would be happening…(engaging in totally inappropriate wolf whistling and eye brow waggling)…but we'll just leave it at that.

Some spoilers for the new season, very minor.

//Denotes use of sign language//

**THE MYSTIC'S DREAM**

_Words and music by Loreena McKennitt_

A clouded dream on an earthly night  
Hangs upon the crescent moon  
A voiceless song in an ageless light  
Sings at the coming dawn  
Birds in flight are calling there  
Where the heart moves the stones  
It's there that my heart is calling  
All for the love of you

************************************************************************

Part one

Abigail Sciuto was bouncing around her lab at full speed, something that was perfectly ordinary when it came to her. What wasn't ordinary was her choice in music today.

Pausing in the doorway to the lab was Anthony DiNozzo with a frown of confusion on his face as the sounds of a woman singing something with a Gaelic feel swept over him; not that the music wasn't nice, in fact he was going to have to find out who she was so he could look her up. Normally, though, Abby was better known for her excruciatingly loud rock and roll, gothic, or something completely mindless, just so long as it had a good beat she could jam to. This stuff had a good beat and the song was beautiful to hear.

"Abby?"

"Tony!" came the expected squeal of glee as the Goth girl nearly tackled him in her excitement before dragging him further into her domain. "Did Gibbs send you down with stuff for me?"

"Uh…yeah, Abs, he did, told me to get down here and, I quote, 'drop this stuff off and get your butt over to interview the wife,' end quote. He also said that he'd be down shortly." He rubbed a hand gingerly over his hair as he handed her a medium sized evidence bag, "Oh, yeah, then he head-slapped me."

Planting one hand on her hip as she grabbed the bag with the other, the black haired woman fixed him with a steely-eyed glare that reminded him eerily of the short tempered marine from upstairs, "And what did you do to deserve the slap?"

Tony continued to rub the back of his head absently, "Oh, that, well, um…I may have made an inappropriate comment…or two."

"Or three," came a deeper voice from the doorway.

"Gibbs!"

The silver haired special agent deftly caught the excitable young woman in one arm while maintaining his grip on a large cup of Caf-Pow with his free hand, "Hey, Abs." Once she turned him loose, Leroy Jethro Gibbs held out the caffeinated beverage to his favorite lab rat and smiled down at her as she eagerly took several large swallows, "You know, Abby, that would last longer if you took smaller sips."

She patted her sternum several times emphatically as she drank deeply before turning to set the cup down by her station and he stepped further into the room commenting absently, "Yes, I know it's yours."

Shaking his head, Tony sighed softly. It was times like this that he was completely baffled by these two. Abby had apparently been using her sign language at Gibbs, who had proven fluent in it as well.

Abby donned a pair of gloves and opened the evidence bag as Gibbs caught her up on the case and told her that she could be expecting more items in her lab shortly from Ducky. Moving with her usual rapid grace, Abby started up several machines and began running the necessary tests to help with their investigations.

"There!" She announced happily, "Everything's up and running and I should have something for you in about an hour."

"Thanks, Abs, I'll be back later to check on you. If something pops up before I come down…"

"I'll call you, never fear," she chirped brightly with one of her trademark smiles.

Face softening as he straightened up from where he'd been lounging against the table behind her, Gibbs stepped up to her and placed a gentle kiss on her offered cheek, then signed, //See you later.//

//Not if I see you first!// came her quick reply.

Gibbs turned to leave and spotted his senior agent observing them. Irritation flooded him as he stepped closer to the younger man and Jethro's hand flashed out to connect with the back of Tony's head, "DiNozzo, didn't I tell you to drop that stuff off and then go interview the wife?!"

Rubbing the back of his head yet again, Tony nodded, "Yes, boss."

"Then why in hell are you still here?"

"Leaving, boss."

As Tony made a beeline for the door to make his escape, Gibbs' voice rang out again, "And take McGee with you!"

Never pausing for fear of retribution, Tony stepped into the waiting elevator, "Cruel and unusual punishment, boss." He stabbed the button for their floor desperately when Gibbs fixed him with a deadly stare.

"You're so bad, Gibbs; you know that, right?"

"Whatever works to keep them in line, Abs, you know that. Whatever works."

************************************************************************

As the day wore on, Abby was kept busy with the evidence coming to her lab from both the team and from Ducky in Autopsy, so she didn't have much of a chance to pause for lunch and as such, didn't notice that the sky was growing steadily darker. Gibbs had popped in and out of her lab a couple of times and she'd given him what she had, but was frustrated that she had so little to work with this time.

Plopping down at her desk at nearly 1400 hours, Abby pulled out her sandwich and began to wolf it down as she pulled up her personal email. She had some jokes that she forwarded on to friends, a really cool story about a boy with Down Syndrome playing football that she passed on to Gibbs, and a note from a friend from high school who had visited last weekend thanking Abby for letting her crash at her place. The beeping of the computer running down the fingerprints she'd been given drew her attention and as she bounded up from her seat, Abby finally noticed how dark it was outside.

"Wow," she muttered to herself, "I think that's going to be pretty nasty when it hits." Abby pulled her stool over and sat down to see what her baby had found and grinned in delight as she reached for the phone. After relaying the information to Gibbs, she began to carefully and tediously document all of her data and research to be attached to the file the team turned into the Director Vance.

************************************************************************

About an hour later, the already bright lab was illuminated by a brilliant flash of lightening and the clap of thunder that swiftly followed shook the massive building to its core. Startled from her work, Abby looked up and found the small windows near the ceiling of her domain were completely black and leaves were being whipped past by a fierce wind. She pulled up the internet on her computer and went to one of the weather sites to see just what was going on.

The picture was not reassuring. The storm was huge and they were only getting the outermost edges right now. The center of the storm was brightly shaded in orange, red, and purple; this was going to get downright vicious.

Not wanting to be alone in the lab as the storm's fury increased, Abby made for the elevator, nearly dancing in anxiety as she waited for it to descend to her level. When the doors opened, she was nearly bowled over by an exiting Ziva David, their team's newest official member. After giving up her position with the Mossad, Ziva had passed everything she needed, including the 'Gibbs Test', to become a fulltime NCIS Special Agent.

"Abby, thank goodness, Gibbs was busy reporting to Vance and asked me to come get you and take you down to Autopsy. This storm is very, very bad and he wanted everyone down there for safety since there are no windows to worry about."

The Goth nodded as she allowed the Israeli woman to pull her into the elevator and press the button for the lower level. Before the doors closed, another flash of lightening could be seen from the direction of Abby's lab and the floor and walls shook in response. The car began its descent and both women tensed when everything flickered and the elevator jolted slightly, then smoothly resumed.

The doors opened at Autopsy and they tumbled out, deathly afraid that the power would go out while they were trapped inside. Hurrying to the doors leading to Ducky's lab, Abby and Ziva were relieved to find Tony, Ducky, and Tim already safely within.

Donald "Ducky" Mallard held out his arms in welcome and Abby was quick to take refuge in them, while Ziva smiled behind her in thanks for the offer. The good doctor knew that storms didn't normally bother the young forensic scientist, but this was not an ordinary storm.

The small group gathered around each other, seating themselves on tables or chairs as they waited to see if anyone else would be joining them. There was a sudden jolt that made the hair on the back of everyone's neck stand up as a huge bolt of lightening struck the building and everything shook. They were instantly plunged into darkness as all electricity shorted out from the force of the jolt, but they were fortunate in that there were emergency generators that kicked on quickly to provide some lighting.

Ducky decided to launch into one of his stories about a youthful indiscretion to take everyone's mind off the storm looming over them, making sure that it was one of his more humorous asides. Tony countered with one of his own from his days as a police officer, followed by Tim on his time in college and the computers he'd gotten into trouble over. Ziva was even convinced to talk a little about growing up in Israel.

When it came around to Abby, she wasn't sure what to talk about, until Tony intervened, "You know, Abby, there is one story I would love to hear about, if you don't mind sharing."

She cocked her head, sending her black pigtails bouncing, "And what would that be?"

"You and Gibbs."

************************************************************************

A painting hangs on an ivy wall  
Nestled in the emerald moss  
The eyes declare a truce of trust  
And then it draws me far away  
Where deep in the desert twilight  
Sand melts in pools of the sky  
When darkness lays her crimson cloak  
Your lamps will call me home

************************************************************************

Part two

A little redheaded girl raced around the backyard, laughing with joy as she was chased by a beautiful blue merle Shetland sheepdog. The happy ball of fur kept trying to herd her where he wanted her to go and she just wasn't cooperating with him. She finally ran out of breath and collapsed to sit in the new spring grass with her back pressed against a delicate Japanese Weeping Cherry tree as the dog dropped to lay beside her with his classic head on her leg.

The twelve year old ran caressing fingers through Dakota's thick coat, easily finding all his itchy spots, and soon had him groaning happily as she loosened some of the clumps of hair he was trying to shed. She looked towards the patio where her mother reclined on lounger reading a book. Today was a pretty good day for her and she wasn't as sick as she often was after chemotherapy, so she was taking advantage of the lovely day to sit outside.

The girl settled herself more comfortably against the tree as she looked back over the last few years. Her father had been killed five years ago in a car accident and her mother had been diagnosed four months later with breast cancer. They had removed the mass and she'd gone through radiation and chemo until they'd declared her cancer-free. Ashlyn Sciuto had relied heavily on her young daughter to help take care of the house and herself during that time, as well as her little brother. Abby had done her mother proud and done everything asked of her while maintaining her bright, sunny personality.

Three years ago, Ashlyn had stopped at a coffeehouse on her way to work one morning and bumped into a handsome man, literally, dumping coffee all over her clothes. Although it had been her fault, the man had immediately offered to pay for the cleaning on her blouse. Pulling out her every ready pad of paper, she'd written down that he didn't need to do that; she would take care of it. Realizing she was deaf, the good looking guy had used some slow rudimentary signs he'd picked up from a deaf friend years earlier, and insisted.

Realizing that he wasn't going to give up, Ashlyn had acquiesced as gracefully as she could and he invited her out for dinner that Friday so he could get her shirt to take to the cleaners. She expected him to renege when she informed him that she needed more time to find a babysitter and was stunned when he told her he could pick all of them up at 1800 hours…er…6:00pm.

Abby had been her usual bubbly self and her mother had seen the flash of pain in the intense blue eyes of LJ Gibbs whenever he looked at the pretty child, though he was very gentle with both the girl and her much shyer brother. He'd taken them all to McDonald's, figuring you couldn't go wrong taking kids to a place like that, and watched over them as they frolicked on the indoor playground. When little Adam tripped and skinned his knee, Gibbs had been right there to scoop him up and doctor his leg while Ashlyn looked on in stunned disbelief.

After that first date, the two had gone out several times, both with and without the children. Ashlyn learned about Jethro's deceased wife and daughter and understood why he'd looked at Abby with such pain. He was told of her husband and her battle with cancer; bringing out his protective instincts all the more. The two children grew more and more attached to him every time he came by and, to judge by his response, Gibbs was getting attached as well.

Never one to hurry anything without covering all his bases properly, Gibbs and Ashlyn dated for about ten months before he proposed and they were married four months later. Once everything was official, Jethro sat down with the children and told them that he wanted to adopt them. He was perfectly fine if they wanted to keep Sciuto as their last name, but Gibbs was looking to the future and a gut feeling that he would need to be their father legally should something happen to Ashlyn.

Then, the unthinkable happened. Ashlyn's cancer returned with a vengeance and she was undergoing all the treatments again, praying that another miracle would occur. As her fiery red hair fell out again, Ashlyn struggled with her own mortality and the very real possibility that she would not live to see her children grown. She was so relieved when the adoption papers came through, making Gibbs the legal father and guardian of both children.

Though they retained their natural father's last name, Adam called him dad while Abby alternated between dad and Gibbs depending on her mood, and his. Whenever Jethro came home after a long difficult day or was feeling depressed from a case, it was usually Abby who would creep into the living room after he settled onto the couch. Coming up behind him, though he always knew she was there, Abby would slip her arms around his neck, give him a peck on the cheek, and then rest her head beside his. It never took long before Gibbs would reach up to gently squeeze her hands and nudge her head with his own.

He would spend hours playing games with Adam and helping both kids with their homework. In return, they helped him learn to sign fluently so he didn't feel so out of place when they talked with Ashlyn. Gibbs had been enormously proud when Abby's teachers had gotten in touch with them to put her in an accelerated program because she was so frighteningly intelligent. He and Ashlyn were contacted by numerous schools that all wanted to have the honor of saying Ms. Abigail Sciuto was an alumni. They settled on a school that was close by so she could still come home each day, but that would be able to meet her needs. They also made sure to spend a little extra time with Adam so he didn't feel like he was being left behind by his sister.

Today was a particularly wonderful day for their family. Adam and Abby had just started spring break from their schools, Ashlyn was feeling better than she had in months since the return of her cancer, and Gibbs was taking some vacation time so they could do things together as a family. As Abby watched from her spot under the tree, she could see her brother and step-father coming out onto the patio, the nine year old boy was proudly carrying a large platter of meat to the barbeque grill while the tall distinguished looking man went to give his wife a kiss.

He rose to his full height, eyes swiftly skimming the yard in search of his daughter, and when he spotted her, flashed her a quick sign, //I love you.//

She grinned back at him, //Love you more.//

Gibbs winkled his nose at her playfully and Abby broke into laughter as she scrambled to her feet and raced over to the patio, Sheltie in tow. As soon as she was close enough, Jethro swept her up in a tight embrace and swung her around twice before placing her back on her feet. He relieved Adam of the heavy plate, set it on the side of the grill and signed, //Good job, son, thank you.//

//Welcome,// the boy flashed back, //can I go play with Dakota now?//

When Gibbs nodded, the boy bolted out into the yard knowing the dog would be unable to resist following. Turning to the pre-teen, Gibbs asked, //Would you make a salad, sweetheart?//

//Sure!// But before she went into the house, the girl approached her mother, //Do you need anything, mom?//

//Could you bring me a glass of tea?// Ashlyn asked.

//Be right back,// and Abby disappeared into the house, returning in short order with a big glass of ice tea for her mother who thanked her.

Abby stood in the kitchen making the salad as she watched out the window overlooking the backyard. It was a habit she'd gotten into years ago when she and her brother were the only ones in the house who could hear. If her brother started crying, she was the one to go get her parents to tend him. After her father died, Abby was the one who usually just took care of Adam herself, especially after her mother started cancer treatments. Now that they had Gibbs there, he was usually the one who would take care of their hurts when they occurred and was the one who listened for any problems.

It was pretty eerie sometimes the way the man seemed to know when something wasn't right with one of the kids. Once, when Abby had gotten bullied at her new school by a much older student, he had taken one look at her and sat her down to demand what happened. She had tried her best to blow it off, but Gibbs just kept at it until she finally caved in and showed him the nasty bruising on her upper arms where the boy had grabbed her. Abby never knew what he did, but that was the last time the boy even came near her and no one tried to bully her again.

The salad done, the girl tapped on the window to get her father's attention. When he looked up, she signed, //Salad's done, should I start on the potatoes?//

//Yes, please, and thank you.//

She nodded and quickly turned her attention to prepping and frying up the potatoes to go with the barbequed meat and salad. She kept an eye on Gibbs and when she saw him plating the meat, she got the table set and put out the rest of the food as well as drinks for everyone. Adam came in at that point, carrying the meat, followed by Gibbs who had assisted their mother out of her lounger and escorted her in.

The next morning, everyone piled into the car for a trip to the zoo. Ashlyn had a motorized wheelchair for long outings like this, so she was able to come along as long as they made sure to keep her well shaded from the sun and hydrated. They had planned to stop for dinner out, but their mother was exhausted by that point and needed to go home to lie down. Once they were home, Gibbs handed Abby some money and told her to order pizza and hot wings for everyone while he settled Ashlyn in bed.

That night, Gibbs woke the children from a sound sleep and told them to get dressed and get to the car. He had already called an ambulance to take Ashlyn to the hospital and wanted to make sure they were able to be there as well. While Adam stumbled out to the car, Abby asked what had happened.

//She couldn't stop vomiting, baby, and she passed out.//

Abby watched in horrified silence from the backseat of the car while the EMTs came out with her unresponsive mother strapped to the gurney. The white blanket covering her from her feet to her chest was sprayed with red. Turning to her brother, Abby pulled Adam to her and hid his face so he wouldn't see their mother covered in bloody vomit.

Even the night her father had died hadn't been so terrible for Abby. Gibbs sat between the children in the hospital waiting room while the doctors struggled to save their mother's life. Adam finally gave in to fatigue and fell into a restless sleep with his head on a pillow beside his step-father's leg while Abby didn't budge from her position huddled against his side. For his part, after calling his supervisor, Jethro stared unseeing at the wall in front of them while he rested one hand on the sleeping boy's shoulder and carded his fingers tenderly through the bright red hair of his daughter.

The doctor finally made an appearance after several hours of waiting, during which Gibbs had nearly needed to be admitted himself as his anxiety and panic grew. He drew the family into a private room and sat them down.

"I'm very sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, but we've done all we can for Mrs. Gibbs, and there's nothing else we can do at this point."

Holding the children tightly to his sides Jethro demanded hoarsely, "What happened?"

The doctor met his eyes squarely, "She had an abdominal aortic dissection; essentially, the large artery running from her heart and through her abdomen ruptured and she bled internally, that's why she was vomiting blood. We attempted to repair it, but the tear is too big and the artery is too weak from all the chemo and radiation." He sighed deeply, "We have her on full life support right now in ICU; but all brain scans are negative. I'm so sorry."

The doctor left the small family alone while Gibbs struggled to make sense of it to his small son who didn't understand all the technical terms. Abby, who had developed a fascination with all things medical after her mother's initial diagnosis, finally stepped in and made things simple, "It means, Adam, that she's going to join daddy in Heaven, she's just waiting long enough for us to tell her goodbye before she goes."

After a huge bout of tears from the boy, they made their way to the ICU room where their mother was hooked up to so many machines it was a little scary for the kids. Quietly, Gibbs told the children that they needed to tell her goodbye and Adam demanded to know how they could do that when she couldn't see them.

Abby knelt in front of her sobbing brother and lifted his chin so he could look at her, "Adam, mom's getting ready to go to Heaven, so she _can_ hear us now. She watching us and waiting for us to tell her goodbye before she has to leave, but she doesn't hurt anymore, and she can see us and hear us, and her hair's all grown back, down to her butt, just like she wanted! So you climb on up there and tell her how much you love her."

Swallowing back his tears, the boy raised his arms to Gibbs in a silent request to be lifted up onto the bed. Once he was in place, the boy leaned carefully closer to place a kiss on her cheek and whisper, "I love you, mom, give daddy a hug for me when you see him."

Mike Franks, Gibbs mentor at NCIS, had arrived in response to the frantic call from his agent and stood at the doorway watching silently. When Adam finished his farewell, the older man stepped forward and gently lifted the child into his arms and carried him out of the room.

Gibbs observed as his daughter slowly approached her mother's bed and slid her right hand _under_ her mother's slightly cupped palm. The pre-teen pressed her forehead to Ashlyn's and whispered, "I love you so much, mom, and I'm going to miss you. I promise that I'll take care of Adam and dad; I'm going to get a job at NCIS one day so I can keep and eye on Gibbs for you." The whole time she was speaking, she was finger-spelling her words into her mother's hand.

When she was done, Abby stepped back and let Gibbs take her place. Like Abby, he signed his words as he spoke them, telling her just how much he loved her and would be lost without her, and promised to take care of the kids and let them take care of him in return.

When he was done, the doctor came in, "Do I have your permission, sir?" When Gibbs nodded, a nurse approached with a clipboard and pen for him to sign everything for legal purposes. Once he had completed the necessary paperwork, the doctor silently turned off the machines and Jethro flinched when the heart monitor abruptly flat-lined.

The doctor pulled out his stethoscope and placed it in various places on Ashlyn's torso before straightening and announcing, "Time of death: 8:42 am."

Abby turned and bolted out the door before Gibbs could stop her and she could hear him calling out her name as he gave chase. She had nearly made it to the end of one of the innumerable hallways when Mike Franks stepped out of a room and caught her racing figure.

Wrapping her in a tight embrace to prevent her from hitting him as she struggled, he lowered his head so his mouth was close to her ear and murmured, "You gotta be strong, baby girl. I know it's hard, I know you're scared and hurt and mad right now, but so is he. Don't run _from_ him, honey; run _to_ him."

She stopped struggling and he let her go so she could turn around and see Gibbs as he appeared at the other end of the hallway, tears running down his face even as relief shone in his eyes when he spotted her. Abby realized that Jethro was probably hurting even more than she was; after all, this was the second wife he had to bury.

Suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to erase the grief that bowed his shoulders, Abby bolted again. Only this time, she ran in his direction rather than away, and Gibbs dropped to his knees to catch her as she dove into his ready arms. Locking her arms around his neck she whispered, "Everything will be alright, dad, don't worry; I'll take care of you."

************************************************************************

And so it's there my homage's due  
Clutched by the still of the night  
And now I feel you move  
Every breath is full  
So it's there my homage's due  
Clutched by the still of the night  
Even the distance feels so near  
All for the love of you.

************************************************************************

Part three

Abby was staring at the wall as the group gathered around her tried unsuccessfully to wipe away tears without anyone else noticing. She hadn't moved from her position on the chair she'd claimed and was still sitting bolt upright, spine rigid in remembered pain. Thankful for the shadows the emergency lights didn't quite chase away, she continued, "Mom used to say that she wished I'd inherited my father's black hair rather then her red and I would tease her that if I had, it would only make me look more like I belonged to Gibbs, since he had black hair, too. She would just get this little smile and a far away look on her face before patting me on the cheek and saying 'exactly'."

She drew in a deep breath and a slight smile graced her pale face, "After the funeral, some relatives showed up and tried to say that since Gibbs wasn't our natural father, and they were related by blood, we should be given to them."

A large hand came out of the shadows and gently tugged on one long black pigtail, "And I told them they couldn't have you or your brother."

Tipping her head back to look up at Jethro, who now stood behind her, Abby grinned, "I believe your exact words were 'there will be blood, and none of it will be mine.' For some strange reason, no one wanted to challenge you."

Gibbs leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head as he muttered, "And no one ever has since."

Ducky cleared his throat loudly as he brushed away the last remnants of tears from his face, "What a wonderful story, Abby, Jethro; I never knew that the two of you were actually related."

"Answers a few questions, though," McGee hissed at Tony, earning himself a head smack from Ziva along with a death glare.

Gibbs rose to his full height and made direct eye contact with each one of the people in the room, "This goes no further than the six of us, do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal, boss," came Tony's quick response.

"Of course, boss," from Tim.

A look of reproach from Ducky, as if he would ever betray such a trust.

Ziva nodded, "I would never say anything, Gibbs, Abby, be sure of that."

"Aw! Thanks, you guys!" In typical Abby form, she bounced out of her seat and rounded the little circle dispensing hugs to everyone; and even Ziva accepted her embrace without expressing any discomfort for the closeness she rarely allowed. Turning to face her step-father, Abby hurtled into his ready arms for a tight hug, earning smiles from everyone.

"Have fun down here swapping stories?" Gibbs queried softly.

"You bet, it really help take my mind off how bad that storm was. Speaking of which," she eased back until she was able to look up into his icy blue eyes, "is the storm done?"

"Yep, that's why I came down here to get everyone. There are a lot of trees and limbs down, as well as damage to electrical lines all over, so everyone's being let out early today to take care of what they need to at home." His gaze swept the group, "If you can't make it home for some reason, or if you don't have power, Vance said that people can crash here since we have the facilities to help."

Tony, Ziva, Tim, and Ducky all rose and began gathering their things to head for the parking lot and check out their residences. Jethro draped an arm around the vibrant Goth's shoulders as he led her out of Autopsy and to the elevators, "So, tell me, Abs; have you heard from your brother recently?"


End file.
